How to Get Internet for Free

Check out these options to get internet for free. You might be surprised to find more than one option that might help you save money on internet costs.

1. FreedomPop

FreedomPop carries one of the most generous plans to access the Internet for free. Here’s how it works. They send you a small wireless router access point. You carry the device with you and turn on the device when you need Internet access. It works wherever you are, letting you browse as long as you need to.

They ask for a deposit on the device, but as long as you return the device within a year you get a full refund. If you decide to keep using FreedomPop you keep the device and they keep the deposit as payment for the device.

FreedomPop allows you 500MB of FREE data each month with their free plan. This should cover the needs of most light users, however, if you need more data you may want to switch to one of their other plans.

For example, they have a 2GB plan which costs just $19.99 per month. Even though the other options at FreedomPop aren’t free, they may cost you less money than your current Internet service plan does.

2. NetZero

NetZero is one of the oldest Internet providers available, having been around since 1998. It works differently than FreedomPop. With NetZero you access the Internet via CD installation or downloaded software instead of using a mobile router.

NetZero limits its free Internet access to 10 hours a month, so this option will work best for light users as well. NetZero has a “no obligation” policy, which means you don’t have to sign a contract to use their services. They do feature other monthly plans that carry a monthly fee if you’re interested in more available Internet access.

Here are some of their low-cost plan options for users who want more Internet access.

NetZero DSL Broadband

This package allows you much faster connection speeds without tying up your land line. You can get it for as low as $26.95 per month.

Mobile Data Plans

NetZero also has mobile data plans that are super affordable. If you want to have Internet access on your phone but don’t want to pay a lot, here are some of their options.

200 MB of data per month: totally free

500 MB of data per month: $17.95 per month

1 GB of data per month: $27.45 per month

2 GB of data per month: $42.95

The free option could be great if you use little to no data on your phone. You’d have data for emergencies or rare access need, and get it for free.

3. Juno

Juno is another carrier that offers free Internet as well as a variety of paid Internet access plans. Their free plan is limited to ten hours per month like it is with Netzero but would be good for light users. Juno also offers the no obligation, no contract policy.

4. National Chain Stores

Another way to get free Internet access is to take advantage of nearby national chain stores and businesses that offer free Wifi. Many national chain stores and restaurants offer free Internet access for customers.

Most popular nationwide chains that offer free Wifi:

McDonald’s

Panera Bread

Starbucks

Whole Foods

Marriot Hotels

Dunkin’ Donuts

Buffalo Wild Wings

Office Depot

Target

Barnes and Noble

Best Buy

Apple Stores

Note that you might be tempted to spend money if you’re using free Internet provided by stores and businesses. For that reason, you may want to be careful to plan ahead regarding your shopping.

Commit to not doing any unplanned shopping while you’re taking advantage of the free Wifi available at stores and other locations.

Other places where you might find free Internet access in your area might include airports and other local non-chain businesses. Most non-national businesses have a sign posted if they offer free Wifi.

Since you’re likely visiting at least one of these national storefs or businesses on a semi-regular basis, it might be helpful to take advantage of their free Internet access.

5. Wifi Free Spot

To help you track down local and national businesses in your area that offer free Wifi Internet access, you can check out a website called Wifi Free Spot.

This site has a directory that can be accessed by clicking on the state or country you’re in and will show you all of the free Wifi places in that state or country.

The great thing about the Wifi Free Spot website is that it can be really useful if you’re traveling and want to find free Internet access in the area you’re traveling in.

6. Your Local Library

Most local libraries have computers that allow you to access the Internet for free. All you have to do is become a library member, and for public libraries that’s free as well.

Granted, you will have to be at the library to get Internet access, but there are a lot of nice things about using the Internet at the library. It’s super quiet and you’ll have very few interruptions, for instance. You may not always have that quiet of an environment at home.

As a bonus, you can borrow free books, magazines and DVDs to bring home while you’re there.

7. Everyone On (Connect2Compete)

Everyone On is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to helping low-income families get Internet access for free or cheap. When you go onto the site you can hit the red “find offers” button at the top of the site.

Bonus: If you qualify for this program you may be able to get super cheap devices as well. Qualifying individuals and families can often get cheap laptops or other devices.

Note: You do have to qualify with certain low-income standards or be eligible for certain public assistance programs to qualify for this deal.

8. Check With Local ISPs

Although they don’t like to advertise this fact, many local ISPs do provide ways to get free Internet service. They may have offers for free Internet service for a certain time period with bundle packages.

Or, they might offer free Internet service if you bundle and use dial-up instead of faster ways to connect. Check with your current ISP for deals. Then, check with competing Internet Service Providers.

You never know what kind of offers they might throw your way to get you to switch over from a competing company.

9. Check Out All Free ISP

If you’re looking for other options to get free Internet access, check out the All Free ISP website. This is a search engine site that will help you search by state or zip code to find free Internet in your specific area.

It’s totally free to use and can be a great catch-all site for finding free Internet whether you’re at home or on the road.

Summary

If you are interested in saving money on your Internet bill, one of the ways mentioned above might be right for you. Every dollar saved means more money toward your financial goals.

And if these free Internet options don’t work for you, at least try and find a more affordable plan. One of the best ways you can find more money in your budget is to do a Challenge Everything budget.

This is where you go through each line item on your budget and try to reduce or eliminate it. For instance, you shop around to find lower rates on Internet service and car insurance. Or, you drop your monthly gym membership and commit to working out at home or in the outdoors.

Similarly, you choose to eat at home instead of at restaurants. Or, you forego expensive salon trips for DIY hair and nails. Making these spending adjustments might be challenging at first.

However, you just might find you like not spending money better than giving it away for things you can do cheaper. Try it for a few months and see.

By minimizing your Internet costs and other expenses, you free up more money for important financial goals. After all, wouldn’t you rather pay less for Internet and have your mortgage paid off early? Or pay less for car insurance and put that money toward early retirement?

If you can swing it, cheap or free Internet access may work just find for your needs. Combined with other lowered expenses, cheaper (or free) Internet access just might help you achieve your financial goals faster than you think.

Which of these free Internet options have you tried? And how did you like the company you tried? Share in the comments section below.

Well, one way to check each company is to Google “FreedomPop Reviews”, for instance. For that company you will find they are accredited with the Better Business Bureau. You could try similar tactics with the others to see what you find before trying them out.

Charlie Brewer

Number 1. I don’t think anyone else will ever see this comment again. 2. You will NEVER AND I MEAN NEVER EVER read, hear, or see anything bad about a company, or product on the Better Business Bureau website. You see, you have to PAY to belong to the BBB. And they will never ever list a complaint. They would lose their customer base. I went to Freedom Pop on the BBB site. It listed 426 customer reviews and 1191 cstomer complaints. Yet, when you click on complaints it comes back with nothing. Now, you would think that out of 1191 at least ONE complaint would still be on the data base. But, no. Nothing comes back. That is the way the BBB sets it up. But I think people have caught on to the BBB. If you click on reviews, that’s where you find all the complaints. You also might try RipoffReport.com. They carry legit information.

Deacon

Thanks for passing that info along.

Bear

I saw your comment, Charlie Brewer, here in the future of April 15th, 2020.

I am looking for free internet. I use the public library and another good one is the local community college. I’d like to get it at home and heard you could invest in something (maybe $200-$400) like a satellite connection then get wifi/internet. I want it for my boat.

nola mackenzie art

Can I get internet without paying?

Deacon

Yes. That’s what these ideas are. 🙂

steve

Yes, these ways are legit. However, you will get much slower internet speeds.

Deacon

There is sometimes a trade-off for a free service.

Ca Da

FreedomPop is a scam. They claim they want your billing address off of your PayPal, and when you go to connect your FreedomPop account to your PayPal account, they take $20 as an “authorization charge”. But, even the billing email address they give is an unmonitored email address. PayPal has been giving people their money back after receiving complaints about FreedomPop. People are complaining that it’s a scam on their Android app reviews. Their Android apps don’t work…Please don’t let your site mislead people to think they’re legit. Do some real research, including checking my “claims” about them to you here, and either remove them from your site or at least do a new review after investigating them for yourself. Thanks.

Deacon

Thanks for the information. We’ll have to check into that.

Aaron J Manzi

Thank you.

Deacon

You’re welcome!

sunshine

Thanks for the info. I always knew it was something fishy about the BBB also for not placing these complaints about the company. As consumers in this country we get ripped of for almost everything and are told lies to keep them in business.

Deacon

It’s true, there’s a lot of scammy companies out there! Glad this article could help!

Mark Pierce

While visiting a close friend that was hospitalized with an illness that required a fairly lengthy stay in the hospital, I discovered that the hospital had wifi and was free, including visitors. I now visit the hospital lobby regularly to access the net with my phone. It works out great for me since I am a fairly light user anyway. And it is also my hospital of choice whenever I have had medical issues, which fortunately has not happened in awhile. I understand most hospitals provide wifi service, but some may require a password, which is easily obtainable from a staff member or employee.

Deacon

That’s definitely a way to get free WiFi! Thanks for sharing your experience!